Raising magical girls, and leave them with eternal regret?!

“Huff…huff… YouYu, wait a second! Didn’t we, didn’t we just go to the aquarium? Now, where are we going again?”

Breathless and panting, WuYue looked at YouYu.

Hearing her, YouYu turned around and asked curiously, “Huh? Are you tired already? You seemed more excited than I was at the beginning! We’ve only been to a few places… are you really that worn out?”

“Ugh… how can you say that! I didn’t expect this place to be bigger than I imagined!”

WuYue couldn’t help but complain after hearing YouYu’s words.

But… it wasn’t really YouYu’s fault. More accurately, it was her own problem…

Just a moment ago, when YouYu said he would take her to have fun all day, she was overjoyed! She immediately agreed without hesitation, but at that moment, she hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation.

Once they started “playing,” she discovered just how enormous the mall truly was—so large that it felt like they could barely cover any ground.

At that time, she was just too excited and a bit out of it, so she said to YouYu:

“Since you promised to play with me all day, we will walk around here until we go home at night!”

“And if you don’t promise me… well, there might be some extra ‘punishments’!”

“That’s all well and good… but can you really play that long?”

“Hmph! Of course! And besides, you made this promise… if I don’t take full advantage of it, that would be such a waste!”

Because of that conversation, she and YouYu had spent the entire day wandering around!

This mall, for reasons she couldn’t comprehend, was just enormous! Walking around felt like running a marathon… well, that was just an exaggeration.

In any case, she had made up her mind!

After taking a deep breath, WuYue looked at YouYu, trying to muster some energy as she said:

“YouYu! Let’s hurry home! Or we can go somewhere else to rest, as long as it’s not here!”

“Well… actually, I quite liked how happy you were earlier. How about we walk a little more? Think of it as a workout~.”

“!!… Hey! Stop saying so much! No matter how much I like it… it doesn’t matter! Plus, those words you said aren’t good at all!”

WuYue felt her face heat up at YouYu’s first remark, but her cheeks flushed even more as she processed the second half. Why was he suddenly joking around like that? It wasn’t funny at all!

“And I really don’t get it! Why are you still like this? Don’t you feel tired at all?”

“Well~ that might just be because everyone has different stamina. Sorry about that~.”

Seeing WuYue looking like she was about to get angry, YouYu felt it was time to dial it back a bit. He smiled, walked in front of her, turned his back to her, and said:

“Then, as an apology, how about I carry you?”

“After all, you’ve been walking all day, so your body and mind must be tired, right? Plus, you’ve been laughing for so long… too bad you won’t be laughing anymore.”

“YouYu——! I already told you not to bring that up again!”

“Seriously… I was feeling a bit touched earlier…”

“So, do you want me to carry you?”

A straight ball question.

“……”

Faced with YouYu’s straight ball question, WuYue was taken aback, instinctively turning her head away, crossing her arms over her chest, and closing her eyes as she pondered.

After a moment, she sighed, turned back around, and said, a bit bashfully:

“Fine, fine! After all, if you hadn’t brought me here today, I wouldn’t be in this situation, so… this is your deserved punishment!”

“Mm-mm! Okay, okay.”

Once he heard WuYue’s agreement, YouYu didn’t hesitate. He squatted down and stretched out his hands, presenting his broad back.

Seeing YouYu in this position made WuYue’s face turn red. Just as she was about to step forward, she suddenly remembered something, fell silent for a moment, and then said:

“But… YouYu, are you really okay? You’ve been walking a lot today, too! Although you look fine now, I can’t help but feel that you’re just trying to hide it from me so I won’t worry…”

WuYue couldn’t help but recall past incidents. After YouYu got injured, he always tended to conceal his injuries, never telling her about them. If it weren’t for her still possessing some magical girl abilities even when not transformed, she probably wouldn’t have noticed his injuries.

So now, she was worried about that.

“Oh! About that! You don’t need to worry!”

Seemingly sensing WuYue’s concerns, YouYu reassured her:

“After all, if I really were tired, I wouldn’t be able to hide it! Right? How someone feels is always reflected in their spirit and appearance!”

“Look at me! Do I look tired? If I were, would I even be here teasing you? Hmm… or do I need to tell you another ‘joke’ for you to believe me?”

“……”

“!!”

Just after YouYu finished speaking, a “heavy” weight suddenly pressed against his back. Feeling the pressure, he sighed internally while, as always, gripping WuYue’s legs and placing them at his sides.

Once her arms wrapped around his neck, YouYu easily lifted her and began walking.

On this journey, neither of them spoke. They simply walked silently, allowing the chaotic day to settle into a rare moment of calm.

“Not bad…”

Feeling WuYue leaning against his back, seemingly asleep, YouYu couldn’t help but smile.

Sure enough, his plan was spot on! Or perhaps it was more of a happy accident! By spending the day playing around, he had successfully worn WuYue out, so she didn’t have the energy to dwell on those twisted thoughts!

After all, recently, WuYue had provided him with a lot of negative emotions. While that was a good thing in some ways, it wasn’t so great in others.

Thus, his purpose for bringing WuYue out to play today was not only to fulfill her request but also to alleviate the negative emotions she was carrying.

After all, he didn’t want WuYue to get into trouble so soon. Beyond his own desire to avoid crossing any lines that could lead to her harm, there was the consideration of the long-term development and, most importantly, his own safety.

Fortunately, today’s plan had gone off without a hitch. Now, all that was left was to return home and—

“YouYu…”

Unexpectedly, WuYue, who had been resting on his back, suddenly woke up.

It was unclear whether her question arose from the haze of sleep or if she was seizing the moment to voice the deeper questions brewing in her heart.

In any case, she leaned close to his ear and whispered softly—

“A long time ago, you said I was your savior.”

“Then… you said we were friends.”

“But now… I can’t quite figure it out. Do our current relationship still count as friends?”

“YouYu, how do you see me?”